Bond heiress Alexandra Lebenthal stepped down as chief executive officer of Lebenthal Holdings LLC as the firm pursues strategic alternatives that could include a sale of some of its businesses or a reorganization.
“It has been a significant challenge to launch a startup, standalone financial-services firm in the middle of the financial crisis, but I am proud of the many things that we have accomplished,” Lebenthal, 53, said Wednesday in an emailed statement.
Lebenthal said last week she was negotiating with a new buyer for her family’s broker dealer and asset-management business after a sale to South Street Securities Holdings Inc. fell through. James E. Cayne, former chairman of Bear Stearns Cos., sued Lebenthal earlier this year seeking more than $438,000 he says is still owed from a $1 million loan he gave her in 2008.
Read also: Cayne vs. Lebenthal shows bond heiress close to selling firm
The Lebenthals have been a presence on Wall Street since 1925, when Alexandra’s grandparents founded Lebenthal & Co. to sell odd-lot municipal bonds to small investors. Her father James Lebenthal, who joined the family business in 1967, made the firm a household name in the New York area through a series of television ads with taglines like “bond are my babies.”
Alexandra Lebenthal also resigned from the Lebenthal board, while continuing to serve as managing member of Lebenthal & Co., according to the statement. Her brother, James B. Lebenthal, left the firm’s asset-management business to pursue other opportunities, the company said.
Patricia Caldwell of Gordian Group will act as chief restructuring officer while Lebenthal Holdings pursues other alternatives, according to the statement. Doug Famigletti and Michael Jamison were named co-CEOs of the asset-management unit, while Steven Willis will oversee Lebenthal & Co.’s business.
Lebenthal & Co. was sold in 2001 to a company later acquired by Merrill Lynch & Co. She started a new family business in 2007 and was eventually able to buy back the Lebenthal name.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jenny Surane in New York at jsurane4@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Eichenbaum at peichenbaum@bloomberg.net, Steven Crabill
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